WaPo Columnist: The Democrats' Antics During Trump’s State Of The Union Was Embarrassing

Okay—it’s not a defense of President Trump. In fact, it takes swipes at his presidency quite well, as if to shout at Democrats’ faces what they need to say to combat the message he’s disseminated to the country, especially on economic growth. Nevertheless, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank was not happy with how Democrats reacted to President Trump’s State of the Union. He seemed especially taken aback at the notion that scores of congressional Democrats didn’t stand when he entered the House Chamber, breaking the common rule that when the president enters, no one sits—ever:

I take a back seat to nobody in decrying President Trump’s cynical and divisive performance. He repeatedly exploited Americans’ divisions on race, guns, God, immigration — anything to distract from the broken promises, vulgarity and worse that define his presidency.

But the Democrats, with their childish protests, took the bait. Symbolic dissent is fine, but this was a cacophony of causes: black clothing (for #MeToo), kente ties and sashes (because of Trump’s Africa insult), butterfly stickers (for the “dreamers”), red buttons (for a victim of racial crime) and the more bipartisan purple ribbons (for the opioid epidemic).

Worse, dozens of Democrats refused to stand when the president entered the House chamber, forgetting that one stands out of respect for the office, not the officeholder. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) grabbed a middle-aisle seat only to turn his back on the president when he walked past. Democrats groaned, scoffed, heckled and made lemon-biting faces. Others simply boycotted. In short, they did the same sort of things they (and I) denounced Republican lawmakers for when they did them to President Barack Obama.

Milbank then goes on to lament how Democrats can’t find a unifying message against this president, which was clear since we have five Democratic responses. He suggests that Democrats touch upon how Trump hasn’t drained the swamp, his policies favor the rich and corporation, and he sold the working class snake oil. The problem is wages have surged. Bonuses for workers are not “crumbs,” only a limousine liberal would consider bonuses, ranging from $1,000-3,000 bonuses, crumbs. Over 250 companies have doled out bonuses and boosted charitable donations and employee investment. Apple is one of the leaders if not the leader in this, repatriating some $250 billion since the tax rates have been reduced through Trump’s tax plan—with a $350 billion re-investment over the next five years that will create some 20,000 new jobs. Over three million workers have benefitted from the GOP tax plan, and that figure is bound to increase. Approval for the GOP tax plan has spiked over 20 points since December, with the Democratic advantage in the generic ballot dropping 13 points as well. Unemployment has hit all-time lows; job creation was over 2 million—and the Democrats fumed, sulked, and sat gurning at the cameras. Liberal America, the 25 percent who dominate the coasts and cities, loves this. The rest of the country found it to be weird. As Guy noted, they reacted to the good economic news as if someone shot their dog.

.@guypbenson on Democrats at the #SOTU: "It looks, I think, just weird to normal Americans when the president's saying unemployment's at a 17-year low... and they look like someone just shot their dog." pic.twitter.com/Iq38zfwYwX